HEUVELTON -- There will be an increase in police presence and school is delayed at Heuvelton Central School, according to district Superintendent Jesse Coburn.

HCS will open on a two-hour delay today, Wednesday, Oct. 19, to allow time for staff to prepare for students’ arrival, with additional safety measures in place.

The school was allegedly vandalized Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Coburn said the new measures include custodial shift changes to maintain overnight staff and increased patrolling of the campus by state police, including at arrival and dismissal.

There will be no AM PreK, and no morning BOCES programs, he said. Staff should arrive at the regular start time for a morning meeting.

"A sweep of the building was conducted (Tuesday) and deemed safe to enter, and law enforcement arrived to begin the criminal investigation,"Coburn said. "Staff and student arrival began as normal, between 7:20 and 7:40 a.m. Immediately thereafter, staff were notified about the vandalism and the decision was made to dismiss as early as operationally possible. At no time were students or staff in harm’s way."

School officials originally state the incident was discovered around 6 a.m., but it was actually closer to 6:30 a.m. Police were immediately notified, along with the superintendent, officials said. At that time, school buses had already left the garage on morning bus routes.

No other details were provided about the incident.

Law enforcement is investigating vandalism at the school, as well as at Doug's Tavern, the Post Office and the Amvets. For more, see story here.